


Super Mario Bros.

by Knight_Writer_95



Category: Super Mario Bros.
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-05-11 02:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5609593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knight_Writer_95/pseuds/Knight_Writer_95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mario and Luigi are the Italian-American owners of a failing plumbing business. When they fall into another dimension, they find themselves embroiled in a conspiracy involving a princess, a rock, a scheme to take over their world, and fungus. Now they have to fight an egotistical dictator, his army of Goombas, and mismatched thugs. Can two plumbers keep the world from going down the drain? One thing's for sure: this ain't no game. Re-write of the 1993 movie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_Brooklyn, 1995_

The rain pelted the asphalt hard as a woman clutching a bundle tightly to her chest ran through the night as though trying to escape something. At a corner she looked furtively over her shoulder, her bright green eyes scanning the space but seeing nothing except cars which lumbered through the precipitation, headlights blinding anyone who looked at them. Not seeing what she was looking for, the woman cinched her cloak tighter around her frame, adjusted the bundle in her arms, and resumed running. Finally she stopped in front of a church run orphanage where she placed the bundle she was carrying on the top step. She removed something from around her neck, placed it on top of the bundle and knocked rapidly on the door before turning and disappearing into Brooklyn's rain soaked streets.

Cars honked their horns and the drivers shouted obscenities at the woman as she ran into the street to an open manhole cover which she climbed down into the city's sewers. In the dark and dank sewer system she continued running deeper into the labyrinth of tunnels, still looking over her shoulder every few seconds. Finally she stopped at an intersection of the sewer pipes to catch her breath. She didn't see the tall figure in military garb emerge from the shadows behind until it was too late. The person lashed out and grabbed her arm in a grip as strong as iron. The woman whirled around and gasped when she saw her assailant.

"Koopa!"

"Where's the stone?" asked Koopa, his eyes glinting dangerously in the low light.

"It's safe from you!" the woman spat and slapped Koopa in the face as hard as she could.

Surprised, the military man released his grip on the woman who stumbled a few steps before regaining her footing and running again. But Koopa was faster than she was and threw her against a wall when he reached her.

"My patience wains, my queen. Tell me where the rock is."

The queen got back on her feet and saw that they were in a very old part of the sewer. The timbers supporting the tunnel looked rotted and ready to cave in. Maybe if she was lucky Koopa would be caught in it. The queen put her hastily conceived plan into action faster than one would have thought possible and threw all her weight against the support beams which broke with one blow, initiating a collapse right above her. Koopa let out an angered hiss as he watched the cave-in bury the queen, taking the information he needed with it.

_"_ _General Koopa,"_ came a voice over his radio.

"What is it?" he snapped.

_"_ _General, the portal is starting to destabilize. It is advisable that you return immediately."_

Koopa looked one last time at the rocks that had taken his prize before replying. "I'm on my way."

The fact that he had failed to obtain the needed information was but a minor setback in his grand plans. He could afford to wait for now. Eventually Koopa would find the stone and with it he would attain his destiny. It was inevitable.

* * *

At the orphanage where the queen had left her bundle one of the sisters who worked there opened the door and looked out into the cold dreary night. Seeing nothing up or down the street the sister looked down and saw what had been left on the doorstep. It was a baby, barely a year old. She picked up the baby and carried it into its new home. Inside the other sisters came to fawn over their new charge. When brought to the Mother Superior, she took the strange rock that had been left with the baby and held it up to the light. It was a curious object and looking at it the Mother Superior got the feeling that this child had a grand destiny ahead of it.

She had no idea how right she was.

* * *

_A/N: This fanfiction is a (hopefully better) re-imagining of the 1993_ Super Mario Bros. _movie starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper. I personally think that the basic premise (as silly as it was) had a lot of potential that was ruined by poor writing and bad directing. This is my attempt to rectify that. This chapter is just a teaser for what's to come in the new year. I hope you like this version of the introduction. Please leave a review telling me why you liked of disliked this and why. I'm going to need a lot of input from you to make this as good as it can be._

_Knight Writer 95 out_


	2. No Leak Too Small

_Brooklyn, 21 years later..._

 

"Mario Brothers Plumbing, no leak too small. Yes sir... no sir, we can take care of it... we can be over soon... yes sir, don't let anyone touch it, leave it to the professionals. Thank you sir!"

As soon as the phone was put away a grin stretching from ear to ear appeared on Mario's face. They finally had a job!

"Luigi! We've got work!" he called out as he walked into the living room of the small rundown apartment where his younger brother lay on the sofa watching some show on close encounters or some other such nonsense. "C'mon, get off your butt and get your tools, Luigi. There's a broken dishwasher at Mama Leone's."

"Hang on, Mario, this guy on Miraculous World says he just spent a week in another dimension," Luigi protested, his eyes never leaving the TV screen.

"The only thing miraculous I know is that we've still got a roof over our heads and food to eat," Mario shot back as he picked up the TV remote and hit the power button. "And what's this? Don't tell me that you're actually spending money on this!"

Mario had found issues of the New York Post and a few other magazines that reported on aliens and the supernatural. The headline on the Post was about another girl from Brooklyn who had gone missing.

_Pauline Santini Missing_

_Seventh Brooklyn Girl to Disappear in One Week_

"Don't throw that out, that's the issue with the article about the missing Brooklyn girls and the scientist whose brain got turned into cheese."

"Why do you read this stuff? It's garbage. And that stuff is never gonna happen, how could it?" Mario laughed.

"Hey, it could happen, anything's possible, Mario. You just gotta believe," Luigi stated as he grabbed his tool belt and followed Mario out the door.

Mario and Luigi were Italian-American plumbers and owners of the struggling Mario Brothers Plumbing Service. Mario was of average height, stocky, proudly wore a mustache, and was athletic, having played on his high school football team. He was level headed, a rather no-nonsense kind of guy, and the eldest of the two brothers at thirty. Luigi was twenty-three, taller than his older brother, clean shaven, and built like a track runner which he was a part of in high school. He was the dreamer, the one always ready to believe in what others would call impossible.

"I believe, Luigi," said Mario as they pulled out into traffic in their battered old step van. "It's that what you believe and what I believe are entirely different things. You believe in UFOs, Atlantis, and the Loch Ness Monster. I, on the other hand, believe that our rent is four weeks overdue and that our plumbing business has a major leak. Hey! What are you doing? The turn is up ahead!"

Luigi, who was driving, had turned into an alley instead of the street he should have.

"Trust me, Mario," he grinned. "I got a feeling about this alley, this will get us there faster."

"You're crazy, Luigi. Every time that you get a feeling about something we end up bruised, broken, or in some kind of fracas."

"Hey, there are hundreds of animals like birds and turtles that navigate on instinct and my instincts tell me that this is faster."

"Again with the birds and turtles? You talk about them so much I'm beginning to hallucinate birds see turtles in my sleep! With your head in the clouds all the time it's a wonder you ever learned a serious craft like plumbing."

"Well you and pop forced me."

"Forced you? What are you talking about? You've got free will, haven't you? _I'm_ the one who was forced into the family business. Pop made me promise I'd continue our family's plumbing excellence."

"Look, we're here!" Luigi exclaimed as he braked. "What did I tell you? We shaved some time off our arrival."

"Yeah, and it's an absolute miracle that we made it alive, especially with you driving."

"I thought you didn't believe in miracles."

The brothers got out of the truck only for Mario to moan when he saw the van that was parked in front of Mama Leone's.

"Oh great! Santini beat us to it again! How does he do that? C'mon, Luigi, let's see if we can't salvage this."

Mario grabbed his tool belt from Luigi and walked into Mama Leone's, a determined glint in his eye.

Two people in white coveralls Mario recognized were standing in the back of the restaurant talking with the manager, Johnny.

"It's Doug and Mike. This just keeps getting better and better."

"It's a two day job, and that's if we get the parts we need on time. You know how it is with ordering parts, right?"

Mario hustled over and cut in before either the rival plumbers or Johnny could say another word.

"You said it was a broken dishwasher when you called us for the job," he chewed out while glaring at the white suited plumbers.

"It is, it leaks from the bottom," said Johnny, still visibly anxious over the situation.

"That could be either a washer or a hose. It's a two hour job, max. These two hacks are trying to snow you."

Doug and Mike looked at Mario and Luigi and then at Johnny.

"Could you excuse us for just a minute?" asked Mike as he grabbed Mario by the tool belt and dragged them out of earshot of the manager.

"Hey, nobody touches my tools," growled Mario as he slapped Mike's hand off his belt.

"Sorry, I understand. And I assume you, Mario, know that no one messes with our boss," both plumbers leaned in and pointed at their coveralls, "Santini. Know him?"

"We grew up in the same neighborhood. He was the oldest kid on the street and a bully. And he's not a plumber, he's a second rate hack like you."

The four plumbers held a staring competition for a few seconds before Doug called over to the manager.

"What's it going to be? The Mario Brothers or Santini?"

Over where he stood Johnny swallowed nervously. Names were important here.

"Two days you said? That sounds fine."

Doug and Mike smiled and walked back out to their truck.

"Unbelievable. They're not a company, they're a mob," Mario muttered.

"I'm sorry, Mario" Johnny said as he approached the brothers. "I know your old man was friends with Mama Leone before he passed away. How about I make it up to you with a complimentary meal?"

"Yeah, that sounds great!" smiled Luigi, who had a particular weakness for Mama Leone's meatballs. "What do you say, Mario?"

"We'll take it in a box."

* * *

"Santini, I'd love to get my hands on him and wrap a pipe wrench around his neck. His people are always beating us to jobs, I can't figure it out!" growled Mario, now behind the wheel. "And what's wrong with this van? I thought I told you to fix the radiator!"

Their truck had indeed started making noises and sounded like it was ready to die any minute. Mario quickly pulled over so they could check the engine.

"Ease up, Mario, it's been making that sound all week," Luigi said.

"C'mon, Luigi, you didn't tell me that!" Mario groused as he and his brother got out to lift the hood. "Be careful, it's hot."

Mario's word was true as when the engine hood was opened the brothers were blasted in the face with steam.

"I'll see what I can do with this. Here's my phone, check for work," said the elder brother and handed Luigi his cell phone before starting to look at the engine.

* * *

Larry and Roy had not been having a good week. Two weeks ago the portal that had connected their world to the one they were currently in had become active again for the first time in twenty-one years. Their boss, Koopa, had immediately sent them through to bring back the long lost princess. The only problem was that thus far the two had failed to bring back the right woman. They were back in the other dimension again for one last attempt.

Larry was walking back to the car he and his cousin had procured after stopping at one of New York's many hot dog carts.

"Here," he said handing Roy his hot dog after getting in the car.

"What is it?" Roy asked, sniffing the food cautiously.

"They say its dog," Larry replied and threw his bun out the window.

"We'd better not blow this again, Roy. Koopa will de-evolve us if we screw up again."

"Right, so don't blow it this time."

"There she is!" Roy exclaimed so suddenly that Larry nearly choked on his hot dog.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, two arms, one head, two legs. Let's go get her."

"Nah-ah, you've been wrong the last several times. If you think it's her then you go get her. I'll wait here. I'm not getting de-evolved."

Roy made a face at Larry and got out of the car to trail their target until she reached a suitable place to be abducted. It wouldn't do to get entangled with this world's law officers. She was just reaching an opportune place for Roy to grab her when two workers carrying a thick pane of glass walked out in front of him. The would-be kidnapper didn't see the glass but felt it when he smacked against it hard. By the time he looked up again the target had disappeared.

"Where's the girl?" asked Larry when Roy returned to the car empty handed.

"I lost her."

"That's just great," Larry complained and poked Roy in the eyes.

So far their week did not show any signs of getting better.

* * *

Luigi had checked the messages on Mario's phone. There was no work for them.

"Where you going?" he asked Mario who had finally looked up from the engine and was walking towards the store they were parked in front of.

"To get some water," the elder brother answered. "Any work?"

"Nah, we got nothing."

Mario grunted and walked into the mini mart. Luigi hung back, intending to turn on the truck's radio and listen to music but collided with someone and was thrown to the ground when he turned around.

"I'm so sorry," Luigi started saying as he hurriedly got to his feet and extended a hand to help the other person up. "I should have been more mindful of my surroundings."

"No, it's my fault, I was looking at my phone instead of where I was going," the person insisted while accepting the offered hand from Luigi.

When Luigi got his first look at the person's face, he had to catch his breath. She was beautiful! Her eyes were as blue as sapphires, her face heart shaped, and her hair was a shade of amber so bright and intense it almost seemed unreal.

"Hi," was all Luigi could manage to say in that moment, having lost his ability to form complete sentences.

"Hello," she smiled at him. "Look, I'm sorry for running into you, it's just that I have somewhere I need to be and I'm running late. I was checking my texts and that's why I didn't see you."

It took a second more for Luigi's brain to engage after she spoke and he stammered out a reply. "No, it's alright. But it sounds like you could use a ride. I've got a van. It's broken right now but I'm hoping it will be a quick fix."

"That's nice of you. Yeah, a ride would be great if you can get your van fixed. Thanks."

At that moment Mario walked out of the store, carrying a large bottle of water and muttering under his breath.

"Hey, Mario!" Luigi called. "We've got a lady here who needs a ride. I said we might be able to give her one if we can fix the truck quick."

"I don't know, Luigi. Where do you need to go, miss?"

"Not too far, just the other end of the Brooklyn Bridge."

"Hey, the bridge isn't too far from here. We can have her there in no time, what do you say, Mario?"

"Well... alright," he acquiesced. "I guess the bridge isn't too far out of the way. If this will really help you out, miss, please step into the van. Fortunately all we need to get it running again is some water for the radiator."

"Thank you," the girl said and flashed a thousand watt smile. "This means a lot to me, you have no idea how important it is."

After pouring in the water, the engine was able to start and the trio were on their way to the Brooklyn Bridge.

"I can't thank you enough for this ride," the woman was saying. "I'm Daisy, by the way."

"Luigi, and this is my brother, Mario. What do you need to get to the Brooklyn Bridge for?"

"Have you heard about the dinosaur excavation going on by the bridge?"

"Of course!" Luigi exclaimed. "I love that kind of stuff! What's so urgent at the dig that you have to be there today?"

"The discovery of the fossils has disrupted the installation of a new pipe for the city waterworks and the head contractor is coming down today to try and smooth things over and get the project back under way. I have to be there because I'm the boss."

"Really? You're in charge of the dig? That's impressive, you must really know your stuff," Luigi grinned. He was falling for this girl more every minute.

"I better know it, I've wanted to be a paleontologist for as long as I can remember. The site has been great, we've found some new species and iridium in the rocks. We think it could be the impact site of the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago."

"There used to be dinosaurs in Brooklyn?" Luigi asked excitedly.

"There used to be Dodgers here too," Mario spoke up. "Who's the contractor you're holding up?"

"Santini Construction."

"Santini? Now I'm really glad we gave you a ride, I hope you really stick it to that creep."

"Why? Do you have a beef with Santini?"

"Something like that. You see, we're plumbers and that mobster is running us out of business. We just lost a job to his goons."

"He's not making it easy for us to dig up the bones either. He has his men harass us every day, it's slowing us down."

"The guy really is a mobster," Mario muttered.

"That's an interesting crystal you have there," said Luigi, indicating the crystal pendant that Daisy was wearing around her neck. "Did you find that at the excavation site too?"

"No, actually. It was with me when I was found."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I was abandoned. I was raised by the Sisters of St. Teresa. This rock is all I have of my parents."

Silence permeated the van as they drove the rest of the way.

"As much as I'd like to continue a conversation with you, we have reached our destination," said Mario as he parked the van outside the excavation which was surrounded by picketing construction workers.

"Hey, I just want to say thanks again for the ride. I really can't miss meeting Santini. If this works out maybe we can finish the dig without any further interruptions."

"It was no problem, Daisy, now go knock Santini down a few pegs," Luigi grinned and watched her walk off to meet the construction mogul. "She really is pretty, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is. You should ask her out," Mario smiled.

"No, no I can't," Luigi started protesting.

"Come on, what's wrong with you?" Mario encouraged. "Ask her out or you might regret it later."

* * *

While Mario was attempting to convince his brother to ask Daisy out, Daisy herself was approaching a tall man with slicked back hair and wearing an expensive suit with a hard glint in her eyes.

"Are you the boss around here?" he asked as she approached.

"I am."

"I'm Luca Santini, the boss elsewhere. How much longer are you going to be holding up my construction crew with this dig of yours? That waterworks pipe has to be installed soon and you and your fellow students are not helping us stay on schedule by going through the tunnel centimeter by centimeter with camel hair brushes."

"We'll be here for as long as our court order lasts, Mr. Santini. The college has explained to you how important this dig is. We'd be done a lot sooner if your goons would leave us alone and let us work."

"Look at those men," Santini pointed to the picketers on the other side of the chain-link fence. "They're honest hard working men with families to feed. If they're not working they're not getting paid and if they're not getting paid, their families don't eat."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Santini, but this is an incredibly important find. We're working as fast as we can and without any further disruptions your men will be back to work in a few days."

"You look like you're a smart girl. I'll bet that you'll be finished here by tonight. There've been a lot of girls going missing in Brooklyn lately. It'd be a shame if you were added to the list."

"Mr. Santini, I will not be intimidated into abandoning this site until all the fossils have been excavated. If you'd be kind enough to call off your goons your pipe will be installed that much sooner."

The two glared at each other for a few moments until Santini sniffed, looked down, and turned to depart.

"Alright, you've made your position clear. Let me be equally transparent. Be done with your dinosaur dig by tonight or you'll regret it."

Santini got into his limo and drove off from the site, Daisy's eyes never once leaving the vehicle until it had disappeared from view.

"That was really something, Daisy," Mario applauded as he and Luigi walked up behind her. "You ought to be given a medal. That's the first time I've seen someone stand up to that scumbag."

"Thanks, I just hope nothing happens to the dig."

"Come on, Daisy, what's the worst that could happen? You spend a few more days digging up the dinosaur fossils and then Santini's men can get back to work," Luigi said.

"You don't understand, Santini didn't get where he is in the business world by being nice. If something does happen and it goes to court, we probably won't be able to make anything stick."

The three of them fell silent for a few moments until Mario nudged Luigi to get him to ask Daisy out.

"Y-you know, I bet I know what will put a smile on your face," the younger brother stuttered.

"What would that be?" Daisy asked, taking an interest.

"Well, what if you go out with us for dinner tonight?" Luigi proposed nervously. "Mario's got a date tonight with a girl called Daniella, and if you're willing, perhaps we could make it a double date. Also, since there aren't a lot of other girls at this dig that I can see, perhaps the two of you would like to talk. Of course, it's no big deal if you don't want to go out, it's understandable. After all your dig is being threatened and..."

"Luigi," smiled Daisy, "you're rambling."

"Am I? I'm sorry, I do that sometimes when I get nervous and it certainly doesn't help that you're very pretty and... did I just say that? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come on so suddenly like that, it's just... I'm rambling again aren't I?"

Daisy's and Mario's eyes were alight with amusement and Daisy decided to take pity on the tomato faced Italian youth.

"Sure, I'll join you for dinner. What time?"

"Y-you will? Great! Are you going to be here the rest of the day?"

"Yes, I won't be going anywhere else."

"Then how about we pick you up here at five o'clock?"

"Five o'clock works perfectly. I'll see you then?"

"You bet. See you tonight Daisy. Bye."

"Goodbye, Luigi."

As the brothers left Luigi let out a shaky breath. His legs felt like they were going to give out any second now. Wiping some sweat from his brow, he noticed that it looked like Mario was struggling to hold back some laughter.

"Alright, Mario, you got something you want to say?"

"Hey, considering the nervous wreck you became, I think you handled yourself rather well, but what would you do without me?"

"I wouldn't mind giving it a try."

"Oh come on, you were going to let her go."

"And now she'll think I'm a complete idiot," Luigi moaned.

"No she won't, you'll impress her. Now let's get back to the apartment and pick you out something for your date tonight."

* * *

_A/N: Another chapter for you all on the last day of 2015. I hope you liked this chapter and that you all have a great new year. As always, please leave a review. More improvements and changes will be made as this fic progresses. All that and more is waiting in 2016. Until then, keep on writing._

_Knight Writer 95 out_


	3. New York... But Not New York

Larry and Roy had just found Daisy again. They had been ready to quit for the day when they had a stroke of incredible good luck.

"You know, this world isn't so bad. Especially for a place that's being run by mammals," said Roy as he looked through a newspaper. "They've got perfectly edible people just lying in the gutters and plenty of resources we don't. And for mammals, they're surprisingly violent. Have you read their newspapers?"

"But Koopa won't be able to merge the worlds without that rock and the girl. We can't go back without her, remember what he said," reminded Larry

"That if we don't do the job right this time don't bother coming back at all. That's why we're going to do it right."

"But we haven't! We keep losing her! At this rate we're never going to be able to go back!"

"Well it could be worse. At least if we're stuck here it's a decent place," Roy pointed out and went back to his paper.

Larry turned to his partner to say something but stopped shot when he saw the picture on the front page of Roy's newspaper with a headline about the dig. "Hey! That's her!"

"What? Where?" asked Roy as he dropped the paper and started looking around outside the car.

"Her picture is on the front page of your paper! What does it say?"

"Oh, let's see!"

"Hurry up, we need to find her or Koopa will have us killed!"

"No, he won't kill us. He's not that nice. Ah! Here's the article! It says that she is in charge of a dinosaur fossil excavation near the Brooklyn Bridge! And look at the photo! That's where the portal is!"

"I don't believe it! All this time we've been all over Brooklyn looking for her and she's right in front of us the entire time! C'mon, let's go get her before she leaves the site!"

* * *

"Luigi, will you quit changing you shirt? You look fine," Mario said as his brother went back to his room to change his shirt for the fifth time.

"Are you sure?" asked Luigi from his room.

"Yes! Now get out here or I'm leaving without you."

Luigi emerged from the hallway dressed in the nicest jeans, shirt, and hoodie he had. Mario could also tell he had done his hair up a bit.

"There, see? What did I say? I'm sure she'll be properly impressed."

"Hey, isn't that pop's lucky cap you're wearing?"

Mario was wearing an old but well maintained red flat cap. "Yeah, it is. I found it in the closet and I figured I'd wear it. After all, I am a Mario. And so are you and that means that you're going to be fine tonight. No woman can resist the charm of a Mario."

Luigi smiled and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I hope you're right, Mario. I really like her."

"You're the one who's saying anything's possible and I think it's very possible that you'll get more than one date with Daisy. Now let's not keep her waiting any longer, shall we?"

"We definitely wouldn't want her thinking we're not gentlemen. I'm right behind you."

* * *

It was time for Larry and Roy to make their move. They had been waiting in their car near the excavation most of the day waiting for the opportune moment to abduct Daisy. The last of the students had left only minutes ago and Daisy was left alone. It was perfect.

"Now remember," said Larry, "we're lawyers. So try to act like one and follow my lead."

The duo approached the fence and Larry rattled it to get Daisy's attention.

"Excuse me, are you Daisy Johnson?"

"Who wants to know?"

"I'm Alan Darrow and this Clarence Donovan, we're lawyers with Santini Construction and we'd like to discuss a few things with you."

"So Santni's finally called in legal help has he? Alright, I have a few minutes before a friend picks me up. Come on in," Daisy agreed and unlocked the gate.

* * *

The Mario brothers van pulled to a stop in front of the dig site.

"I don't see her," said Luigi as he got out.

"Maybe she's still in the tunnel," Mario said. "Don't go assuming the worst now, Daisy said she'd go out with you and I don't think she's one to stand people up."

"Hey, there she is!" the younger brother exclaimed and pointed to where Daisy was, talking with two other men. "HEY! DAISY!"

Larry and Roy look up, see the Mario brothers and panic. Daisy was about to respond to Luigi's call when she was suddenly grabbed from behind and forced in the direction of the tunnel.

"Hey! Let go of her!" Luigi yelled as he threw open the gate. "C'mon, Mario!"

"Daisy! DAISY!" Luigi's voice echoed through the tunnel as the brothers run deeper in, the strung up lights casting eerie shadows across the fossils.

"Maybe those guys are the ones who have been kidnapping those missing girls across Brooklyn," said Mario. "We gotta go back and get some help."

"No! It might be too late by then," Luigi protested and ran deeper still into the tunnel.

"Luigi? Luigi! Come on, don't be stupid! We're plumbers, not heroes!" Mario tried to make his brother see sense as he pursued him.

"I don't see them and I don't hear anything. Where are they?"

"I don't know, but I do know that this is dangerous and we should get the police."

"M-maybe there's a hidden passage somewhere or maybe... maybe..." Luigi started to ramble.

Suddenly the rock face rippled and Daisy's face burst through. "Luigi! Help!"

"Daisy!" Luigi reached for her but only managed to grab the crystal which broke off in his hand when Daisy got sucked back into the wall.

"Did you just see that?" asked Mario, blinking in disbelief.

"Yeah," Luigi confirmed. "Hey, Mario, I got a feeling about this."

"What?"

"Trust me..." he said as he took a few steps back.

"Luigi, what are you doing?"

Instead of answering, Luigi runs forward at the spot in the wall where they had seen Daisy disappear and leaped right through. The wall shimmered and swirled before settling back as though nothing had happened.

Mario looked at the wall, unsure of what to do. Finally he plucked up his courage and threw himself at the wall but was a foot off. He hit solid rock and bounced off.

"Ow!" he exclaimed and leaned against the rock face only to get sucked through himself.

* * *

Luigi got to his feet somewhat shakily and shook his head. Bad idea. He clutched it in pain and looked around. He finds himself surrounded by roughhewn walls of rock which are covered in pictographs depicting a meteorite impacting the earth. Some of the pictographs were filled with a fluorescent moss, making them look like graffiti.

Behind Luigi the wall rippled and Mario stumbled out, colliding with Luigi.

"Oh... what happened to us?" he groaned as he clutched his head.

"I was wonder the same thing," admitted Luigi.

Mario got up and looked around the cavern himself. Below them in a tunnel that looked like a meteorite crater was a mass of swirling energy and imbedded in the walls around it were large coil-like collectors which crackled hellishly with energy.

"What the hell?" Mario muttered. "Where the hell are we?"

"Hell?" Luigi answered after a beat.

"OK, where the heck are we?" Mario amended.

Luigi got back on his feet again and called out. "Daisy!"

His voice echoed through the cavern and got no response.

Mario stopped and held up his hand. "I think I hear a train. This way."

The elder brother heads through a tunnel leading away from the meteorite cavern. As they walked down the tunnel, the sounds of the train became louder and the floor began to vibrate subtly. They saw a metal door at the end and head towards it. When they opened it, the brothers found themselves at the end of a subway platform. The door they just came through had a sign written on it in peeling and faded paint which read 'NO ADMITTANCE! MAINTENANCE CREWS ONLY!' The station looked old and has a feeling of neglect. Not only were the walls cracked, they were covered in a fungus that half obscured more graffiti.

A train pulled into the station that was old, battered, and completely covered in graffiti, some of which looked like it was etched in with acid. The passengers were disgorged and Mario and Luigi got pulled along with the crowd, unable to maneuver anywhere else but where the sea of people determined they would. When the crowd broke at last they had left the station and found themselves on a multi leveled walkway in what looked like a twisted version of Times Square. It was covered in the same fungus that was in the subway station, had the same feeling of decay, and was pulsing with light and noise.

Rock 'n' Roll blared loudly, bright neon signs pulsed and fought for space, advertising their wares. 'Tex-Rex,' a restaurant. 'Fleshworks,' a tattoo parlor. 'The Death Joint,' a weapons shop. A sign reading 'Thwomp Stompers... Just Stomp It!' hung outside a sporting goods store. Large animated billboards dominated the space atop the buildings advertising things like stun sticks and 'Elect Koopa the Statesman.' Below the walkways was the streets above which hung a wire mesh. The cars were all beat up and had telescoping rods with spring mounted Tesla balls on the end which sparked across the mesh not too unlike bumper cars. The crowd traversing the walkways milled, swirled and shoved aggressively.

"What is this place?" Luigi asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"It's like New York, but it ain't New York," said Mario.

Mario and Luigi milled into the crowd, doing their best to stay close together in this strange world.

"Watch where you're going!" growled a mean looking man in a suit who Mario bumped into.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where I am?" Luigi asked an old lady.

"You're in my way, jerk!" she said and shoved past.

"These people are all assholes," said Mario. "We must be in Manhattan!"

Luigi continued to scan the streets, becoming more and more worried for Daisy's safety. "I don't see her anywhere, do you?"

"No, all I see are a bunch of jerks. We should do what I suggested earlier, call the police. But I'm not getting a signal on my phone, we'll need to find a payphone. You got any change on you?"

It didn't take long for Mario and Luigi to find a phone, but it was unlike any payphone they had seen before. It was hulking, monolithic, and well armored. As they approached it red lights lit up and a deep, growling, computerized voice spoke.

"WARNING! YOU HAVE BREACHED THE PERIMETER. PLEASE STAND BACK."

Mario looked at Luigi, shrugged, and took another step closer. Flame thrower turrets extended from the top of the booth and the same voice came back.

"IF YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE A CALL AT THIS TIME, PLEASE ENTER KOOPONS NOW." There was only a few seconds pause before the system reacted. "YOU HAVE EXCEEDED THE TIME LIMIT. PLEASE TRY YOUR CALL AGAIN LATER."

Mario jumped out of the way of a fire ball that they turrets had launched at him. The turrets were ready to launch again when a high pitched whistling penetrated the air and a youth wearing oversized pneumatic boots landed hard on top of the booth, crushing the flame throwers. He was quickly joined by three other mean faced youths all wearing the same kind of boots. Two of them took out bats and started swinging at the phone, setting off an alarm that sounded like an old busy signal. The other two threatened Mario and Luigi with stun sticks.

"You were gonna use the phone, huh? You must be rich, then. Come on, let's have it, all your money!" he demanded and zapped Mario who reeled back like he was poked with a cattle prod.

"Ow! Stop that! Here," he said in pain and pulled out his wallet which was snatched away quickly.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" the youth asked, holding out the money in front of Mario's face. "Blow my nose? We need coins, Rexes, Koopons!"

"That's one hundred dollars," groaned Mario.

"Uh... I've got eighty-two cents," Luigi stuttered as he held out the change.

The gang member swatted the change out of Luigi's hand in disgust. "What is this? A joke?"

Mario and Luigi look at each other, then back to the gang and shrug.

"Fine," he said. "Search them!"

The other thug patted down the brothers, quickly finding the crystal that Luigi has put in his pocket.

"This looks like it could be worth something," he grinned.

"Hey, give that back!" Luigi demanded only to get hit with a stun stick himself.

"Alright, let's finish them," the first thug said and changed the setting of his stunner from 'stun' to 'fry.'

The brothers were saved not a moment too soon by the sound of coins spilling onto the ground behind them. The others had busted open the phone booth and start scooping up the gold coins as a siren wails in the background.

"Frack it! It's the cops!"

The gang all removed two cylinders from their belts and jammed them into a port in the back of their boots which made a hissing sound. They clicked their heels together and a rising series of beeps was heard until with a pneumatic hiss, the Stompers launch them into the air and far away.

Mario grabbed Luigi and they raced towards the sirens. Several police cars collided through traffic and right past the plumbers except for one car which pulled over by them.

"Hey, thanks a lot," Mario said gracefully.

"Yeah, I thought our goose was cooked," Luigi thanked.

"Lemme see some face-fit," one of the officers said as he approached the two.

"What?" asked Mario, his face perplexed.

"I think he means ID," Luigi whispered.

"Sure here," the elder brother said as he handed over his driver's license.

The cop looked at it but it meant nothing to him. "What the hell is this?"

"Yeah, I know, it's expired. I've been meaning to take care of that."

The cop looked at Mario for a second before yelling to his partner in the car. "Have you ever heard of a driver's license?"

"Nope. Log 'em!"

"In the back, both of you!"

"Whoa, what's the charge?" Mario asked as they were hustled into the back of the battered police car.

"Failure to offer a bribe."

* * *

_A/N: Now we're really starting to make some changes to the story. I hope you all enjoyed this and sorry for the wait time. I've got a full schedule at college this semester. What's in store next for the Mario Brothers? As always, input and reviews are requested and needed. Keep on writing._

_Knight Writer 95_


	4. In the Clink

"Look at this place, it's pathetic! It gets worse every day! Meanwhile the humans have a world that is full of resources. Can you imagine? An endless supply of food, water, clean air! It's like a juicy prime piece of meat just begging to be swallowed! And what are we stuck with? A pit hole that infested with germs, fungus, and is falling apart. Ever since the meteorite struck sixty-five million years ago, we've been exiled to this dump while in the other dimension the mammals thrive!" griped Koopa in his suite to his mistress, Lena.

"It won't be this way for much longer, though. Once you have the stone everything will change," Lena purred as she sidled up to Koopa. She was an attractive woman somewhere in her thirties with lustrous dark red hair and reptilian golden brown eyes.

Koopa was a tall imposing figure, currently wearing a dark green reptile skin warlord's robe. He had very pale green skin, a long face, slicked back bright fire orange hair and fierce ruby red eyes. His penthouse suite in Koopa tower was vast, with marble floors, a spacious bed, a sunken pit with a bar, and a large sleek desk with a computer and vid-com console. Behind the desk were towering crystalline windows that offered a sweeping view of the city below.

"Yes, once I have the rock and the princess, we'll be able to decide out own fate!" he declared, the thought bringing a smile to his face.

"Princess?" Lena questioned, jealousy flashing briefly across her face.

"Yes, once I have both I'll be able to merge the dimensions and destroy the mammals!"

"It's everything you've been working for the past twenty-one years! Your patience is finally about to pay off, you brilliant savage!" praised Lena.

A buzzing came from the doorway and Koopa pressed a button on his computer, bringing up a picture of Larry and Roy who were standing outside his door. Another press of a button and the door opened, admitting the two.

"Cousin!" exclaimed Roy as they approached the desk. "We return with the princess!"

"Are you sure? The last seven times you've failed to bring back the right girl!" hissed Koopa, his eyes narrowing.

"Yes, we are sure! We have succeeded this time, cousin!" Larry professed as he handed a sheet of paper to Koopa. "See for yourself!"

Koopa snatched the sheet away and glanced over it before a large grin spread across his face. "Yes, you are right! The brain scan confirms it! She's the princess! You have done well, this time. I shall not forget this."

Larry and Roy looked elated as they congratulated themselves, giddy with excitement and anticipation.

"Soon a whole new world will be mine," Koopa continued, "and you tow shall be at my side, rich and powerful! It's going to be great! Now, where is the rock?"

The excitement melted from Larry's and Roy's faces and they looked at Koopa blankly.

"Rock... sir?" repeated Larry.

"Yes, the rock, the meteorite fragment I need to merge the dimensions. You do have it, don't you?" his voice took on a dangerous edge.

Larry and Roy shrunk back from Koopa a bit before shaking their heads.

"Then where is it?" demanded Koopa as he rose from his chair, anger burning in his eyes.

The two unfortunate goons before him look at each other, trying to figure out what happened to the shard.

"The plumbers took it," they both say simultaneously.

"Plumbers?"

"Yes, plumbers! They saw us abduct the girl and must have followed us!" Roy stated.

"Yes, that is right! We struggled to bring the girl back through the portal! The plumbers have grabbed the rock before we pulled her through! They must be somewhere out there in the city!"

"You were followed?" roared Koopa, pulling himself up to his full height.

"It could not be helped, cousin! It was either grab the girl then or lose her! If she hadn't struggled so much, those plumbers would never have found the portal!" the air claimed.

"But they did find it, they now have the stone and I can't merge the worlds! Get out of my sight! Both of you!"

Larry and Roy stumbled backwards and continued to trip over themselves as they left the suite as quickly as they could.

* * *

Daisy was unceremoniously shoved into a room that looked like it was cross between a dungeon and a dormitory and the door slammed shut harshly. Inside there were already seven other women who were either playing cards or reading magazines. They all looked bored.

"Hi... I'm Daisy," she said weakly.

A dark haired woman got up and approached Daisy, giving off the impression that she was in charge. She was lithe, looked tough, and dressed in black. "Pauline. Is anyone doing anything to get us out of here?"

"Actually, no one even knows we're here."

Everyone groaned and Pauline's face seemed to fall a bit. "Well thanks for that ray of sunshine, Daisy."

"It could be worse. At least you're all still alive."

"Are you kidding? Look at my hair and my nails! The food here is repulsive, all we have to drink is _tap_ water, and no one has any cigarettes."

"I feel for you, really."

"It won't matter anyway, especially once my brother finds us."

"Why, who's your brother?"

"Luca Santini, that's who. Mark my words, when he gets us out of here these creeps will wish they stayed the hell out of Brooklyn."

* * *

The back of the police car was scratched and torn up as though it had been used to transport wild animals. At the moment it contained Mario, Luigi, and a wiry homeless looking individual who Mario ignored as he tried to talk to the cops.

"Listen, we know who's been kidnapping all of those girls in Brooklyn. If you'd listen we can take you right too them!"

"Wait a minute, did you say Brooklyn?"

The two officers looked at each other and one of them reached for the radio.

"We've got a possible 1658 here, some guy who says he's from 'Brooklyn.'"

"I've heard of Brooklyn," said the other person in the back. "But that's a mythological place."

"Not to us it isn't!" said Luigi. "But if this isn't Brooklyn what is it?"

"Well, this whole place, if it can be called a place, is a sub-dimension. The real dimension is all around us but we can't get to it because we're sub-dimensional. Always have been since the meteorite struck and exiled us all here. That's why everything here's so out of whack with fungus and a corrupt system. At least, that's my theory any way."

"You mean that there's your world and our world and somehow we've crossed over?"

"Might be. Like I said, that's my theory."

"Who are you?"

"Name's Toad. I live in the desert and come in to scavenge and this time they busted my ass. I try to avoid the city as much as possible. I'm an herbivore, see, part chameleon."

"I'm Luigi and this is my brother, Mario."

The cop car sped down a ramp that lead into the parking levels underneath a building whose flickering sign identified it as the Metro Division Police HQ. Mario and Luigi both panicked as the car showed no signs of stopping and was hurtling towards a solid wall. At the last second the vehicle is jerked to a stop by arrester hooks that connected to the rear, like fighter planes on an aircraft carrier.

"All right, out," one of the cops ordered.

Everyone got out in a bit of a daze and were quickly hauled into the station and brought before an officious looking desk clerk, Toad first.

"Name?" the clerk whose name tag identified him as Walter asked, clearly bored.

"Toad."

"Put any personal possession on the turntable and they'll be returned to you at the end of your incarceration, assuming you survive. Take him away," Walter said in the same droning monotone voice.

Mario and Luigi were pushed up next, about to go through the same routine when the doors to the station flew open and several officers wrestled in the gang that had tried to rob the brothers at the payphone earlier. They were shoved up to another desk and their confiscated possessions were put in the turntable. On the other side of the desk a broad shouldered busty cop who looked like she would have done well in women's pro wrestling picked out Daisy's crystal pendant on its broken cord and wrapped it around her neck.

"Hey, that's mine!" Luigi exclaimed. "They stole that from me, I want it back!"

"Shut your trap!" one of the officers snapped and prodded him with a stun rod.

"Name," the desk clerk processing the brothers asked, still in the dull voice.

"Mario."

"Last name?"

"Mario."

Walter only glanced at Mario briefly before writing 'Mario Mario' down on the form.

"Name?" he asked Luigi.

"Luigi Mario."

"Please put any personal items on the turntable. They will be returned to you at the end of your incarceration assuming you survive."

The brothers placed their tool belts on the turntable along with their wallets, watches, and a St. Christopher medallion from Luigi. They were then whacked on the back with a night stick by the two officers that arrested them and herded further into the station. As they were put into another line both of them recoil at the sight of tall things with small reptilian heads.

"What are those things?" asked Mario.

Toad, who was in the line ahead of them answered. "They're Goombas, people that Koopa's had de-evolved."

Before either brother could ask any more questions, Goombas wearing gasmasks approached them and gave them a burst of powder.

"What's going on here?" sputtered Mario.

"It's the de-fungus," Toad answered again. "The stuff is everywhere, choking the city. It takes all the water, it's awful."

A Goomba threw a switch and jets sprayed the party of three with chemicals which Mario and Luigi were repulsed by because of the smell. Next they were herded into a room with large drying machines that were out of order and so they were hustled on to the next stage of processing and chained to a wall with metal plaques placed around their necks. From behind a screen in front of them, two menacing looking guns were aimed at Mario and Luigi. Officers adjusted the height and angle so that red dots were squarely on the brother's foreheads.

"Oh no, no, don't!" they both started protesting, believing that they'd bought it now.

The officers pulled the triggers bus instead of the sound of gun fire there was a bright flash and mug shots were pushed out of a slot not next to the 'guns.'

"Are we dead yet?" Mario asked.

* * *

Koopa was pacing back and forth in his suite, fuming about the turn of events. His dimwitted cousins had successfully brought back the right girl this time but had lost the meteorite fragment he needed to complete his plans. In addition to that, the nimrods had been seen abducting the princess and now there were aliens out there wandering the streets of the city. Koopa was formulating a plan to find the plumbers and the rock when fate intervened and delivered them right to him when the vid-com unit on his desk started buzzing.

"What is it?" he growled as he answered the call.

"Sir, it's Simon from police dispatch. You asked to be alerted of any 1658s and we just got one so I am. Its two guys who say they're from Brooklyn. Plumbers by the look of it."

The mug shots of Mario and Luigi appeared on Koopa's monitor.

"Did you say plumbers?"

* * *

Mario and Luigi sat disconsolately in a claustrophobic wire cage in the police station cell area. The 'cells' were stacked one on top of the other and forklift trucks were used to remove and replace the cages.

"You know, Mario, there are a lot of unexplained phenomena in the world. UFOs, out of body experiences, supernatural phenomena..." said Luigi.

"I don't believe in any of that stuff," Mario grumbled.

"That's because you have a very closed mind. I mean, look around you! This is obviously not New York! Is it so hard to believe that Toad might have been right?"

"You know, you're right. Maybe Elvis is in the same joint. Hey, King! Give us a few bars of _Jailhouse Rock_!" he called out.

"OK, where do you think we are, then?"

Mario couldn't answer the question and settled for looking grumpy.

"I can guarantee you now that that my theory is more than a theory now, especially if you really are from Brooklyn," said a voice above them.

The brothers looked up and saw that Toad had been placed in the cell above them.

"Toad!" Luigi grinned.

"Oh great, now there's two of them," Mario groaned as he leaned back against the cage only to feel something tickling his neck. "What the – it's that fungus again! This place is falling apart! Was it always like this?"

"Nah, it wasn't. Sure, we've been using up our limited resources but things really started going downhill after Koopa took over twenty-one years ago. That's when the fungus first showed up as well. I think that the fungus is our old king who Koopa de-evolved. Now he's getting his revenge on Koopa by infesting the city and slowly choking the life out of it. At least, that's my theory."

"Right... theory," Mario repeated and made the universal sign for raving loony.

A guard, Simon, walked down the metal walkway into the cell area and called up at the stacks. "Mario brothers!"

"That's us!" exclaimed Mario as he shot to his feet. "We want a lawyer to get us out of this chicken coop!"

"You got one."

The two plumbers were escorted down a hallway to a rectangular room that had a table and chairs in it which were bolted to the floor. A person rose from the chair on the other side of the desk greet them, flashing the smile of a career politician or successful used car salesman.

"Hi, come in and sit down. I'm Lazard of Lazard, Conda, and Dactyl," he greeted and handed both of them a business card. He was tall and a striking figure with pale green skin and fire orange hair sculpted like ridges on his head.

"Who sent you? The city?" asked Mario.

"No, I'm from the little place in all of us that can't stand to see anyone in need or in pain."

"Hey, who's in charge here? Who's the head honcho?" Luigi asked.

"You mean El Supremo? The main man? That would be President Koopa."

"We want to see him," requested Mario.

"Actually, I don't think you do," 'Lazard' said and checked the walls before lowering his voice. "Koopa is one evil, mean egg snatching son-of-a-snake. Trust me on this. Now, I need to ask you a few questions. Procedure, you understand. As I understand it the reason you're here is because you were following a young woman, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right," Mario confirmed. "Her name is Daisy."

"What's her age?"

"We don't know, never asked. Around twenty, I'd say," Luigi answered.

"Parents?" asked 'Lazard,' his voice becoming silky.

"She's an orphan. Said she was left at a convent."

"Alright, just one more question for now. Where's the meteorite fragment?"

"The what?" asked Luigi, looking blankly at the 'lawyer.'

'Lazard' lunged across the table and grabbed Luigi by the neck, hissing, "You know what I'm talking about! Where is the rock?"

"Hey, let go of my brother!" Mario demanded and attempted to remove 'Lazard's' hands only to be knocked in the knees by Simon.

"Nobody touches President Koopa!"

"What? You're Koopa?" Luigi questioned, rubbing his neck. "But you said that he was..."

"An evil, mean egg snatching son-of-a-snake," finished Koopa with a grin. "Did I lie? Simon, take them to the Devo Chamber. Something tells me that these plumbers know more than they're letting on."

* * *

_A/N: Another day, another chapter. What will happen to the Mario Bros. in the Devo Chamber? Will they escape? Actually, you probably already know the answer to that. As always, reviews are needed for this piece. If you have any ideas for the plot, I'd love to hear them so put them in a review or PM them. Keep on writing._

_Knight Writer 95_


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